The invention relates to a method for coupling physical and geometrical calculation programs in a data processing system whereby interrelated physical values as well as geometrical values are calculated upon simulation of a component for technical applications.
For the calculations of complex technical components, it is often necessary to utilize several computational programs. It is for example necessary in the calculation of thermal tensions in a body, to first determine the temperature distribution in the body. The two calculations are performed by different programs. Generally, the Finite Elements Method (FEM) is used.
To establish with the programs needed for the calculation a single computational program, is not reasonable since the data storage requirements and the computation time grow in the second power with the number of the physical values to be calculated. If the calculations are performed individually, there is however the problem of the automatization of calling up the various programs and of the data exchange. Often a value calculation is necessary only for a partial area of a component and requires individual networking, so that different networks are required for a complicated calculation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,731 discloses a method for supporting the execution of several simulation programs for coupled simulations. Each of a plurality of simulation programs is in communication with a data library and is executed as an execution process. With each simulation process a data conversion is performed. By the exchange of data resulting from the simulation by the simulation process of one of the simulation programs with simulation processes of the other simulation programs, the data conversion process, which is provided for a transmission simulation process, determines a receiving simulation process, to which the data must be transmitted and submits the data to the data conversion process which is part of the receiving simulation process. The data conversion process for the receiving simulation process performs a data conversion in order to catch the difference between the basis of the transmission simulation process and the basis of the receiving simulation process. There are no operating elements, which permit a simple operation, a calculation program.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a method by which calculating programs for the calculation of physical and geometrical values can be rapidly linked for the simulation of a new technical design element with regard to its geometry and its technical properties. The program coupling should not be a code specifically designed for an individual design element; rather the coupling should, before the specific calculation, be suitable for any simulation task.